1. GKIDS 2018-19 Pre-Administration Workshop
Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills
&
The Readiness Check

2. Agenda Purpose Assessment Summary
GKIDS 1.0
Readiness Check
Assigning/verifying schools and users
System coordinator responsibilities
School coordinator responsibilities
Teacher responsibilities
Close-Out Information
PPT provided as a handout
Intended audience is STCs; other recorded webinars are provided for teachers
I will answer questions at the end of the session.

3. Training Purpose
This year, both GKIDS 1.0 and the Readiness Check pre-administration training will be combined.
The Readiness Check is a component of GKIDS
Materials for both are updated and posted for system/school/teacher access
Roster Upload: one upload, both assessments
Pre-admin earlier this year due to integration of RC and GKIDS training.

4. GKIDS: Purpose
Provides teachers with ongoing diagnostic information about kindergarten students’ developing skills in language arts, math, science, social studies, personal/social development, approaches to learning and motor skills.
Provides a summary of individual student performance at the end of the kindergarten school year as an indicator of first grade readiness.

5. What is Assessed? Academic Content Areas
ELA
Math
Social Studies (optional)
Science (optional)
Non-Academic Dimensions of Learning
Personal/Social Development
Approaches to Learning
Motor Skills (optional)

6. Assessing the Academic Standards using Performance Levels
ELA, Math, Social Studies, and Science standards will be assessed using 2-5 performance levels for each element. The number of performance levels is based on the range of student performance that can be observed for each element.
Performance Levels
Not Yet Demonstrated
Emerging
Developing
Demonstrating
Exceeding

7. Assessing the Non-Academic Standards using Performance Levels
Personal/Social Development, Approaches to Learning, and Motor Skills will be assessed using 3 performance levels for each element. The number of performance levels is based on the range of student performance that can be observed for each element.
Performance Levels
Not Yet Demonstrated
Emerging
Consistently Demonstrating

8. New Schools for
If your system has a new school for the school year, please provide the school name and school code to GCA so that we can add the school to the GKIDS database. Please contact GCA at (888) to provide this information.

9. Who needs GKIDS training?
All newly hired/transferred kindergarten teachers should view the recorded GKIDS overview webinar (link below).
This training is for the year-long GKIDS assessment, and does not include details on the Readiness Check.
Sent out to K teachers via listserv and June 21 to STCs.
About 25 minutes long.

10. Purpose of the GKIDS Readiness Check
The purpose of the GKIDS Readiness Check is to highlight knowledge and skills critical for student success in learning, solely to guide instruction. It will:
Provide the early childhood system with information about the supports and resources needed to ensure kindergarten students start school with skills needed to be successful.
Provide essential information about children entering kindergarten to inform educators on students’ strengths and needs, which can guide instructional decisions for differentiated instruction and support to ensure students are well prepared for their educational experience.
Provide a consistent tool to be used across Georgia in measuring kindergarten readiness.
11/22/2018

11. Overview of the GKIDS Readiness Check
Administered during the first 6 weeks of kindergarten
20 activities measuring all five essential early learning domains
Direct and indirect activities assessed in a naturalistic setting
Assesses the Pre-K Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS)
The Readiness Check was developed with input from Georgia educators and reflects recommendations discussed during a review of student performance data following pilot and field test events.
11/22/2018

12. It is intended to guide and inform instruction
What it’s NOT
NOT intended to prevent children’s entry into kindergarten
NOT intended to evaluate teachers’ instruction
NOT intended to label students as not ready
NOT intended to be used as a high-stakes accountability measure
It is intended to guide and inform instruction
Defining what it is is important, but also what it is NOT. And, we cannot stress this enough. We certainly understand how assessments often have unintended consequences, but [read bullets]
11/22/2018

13. When is it assessed?
Each administration window is unique to a district and is based on the district’s start date.
The administration window closes 6 weeks from the first day of school (30 school days).
These dates are automatically calculated and displayed in the GKIDS data collection platform for each district.
End dates are calculated considering start dates and holidays.
The ability to enter student data will no longer be available after the end date of a district’s administration window.
Assessment may occur at any time during the window.
Some activities may be assessed directly.
Other activities may require repeated observations over time.
There is no prescribed order of activities.
Read slide
Stress the flexibility allowed within the assessment window
There is no repeat administration with any of the activities or with particular students. We want to capture where students are when they enter K – the goal is not to get them all to “demonstrating” within the first six weeks of school. One and done.
Talk more about the data collection and entry later in the webinar with details about the GKIDS platform.

14. Keeping a Formative Lens
The baseline data collected in the first six weeks of school through the GKIDS Readiness Check should be analyzed to inform differentiated instruction – to meet students’ needs.
The GKIDS Readiness Check data will guide instructional decisions related to support, enrichment, and planning.
Determination of readiness is complex and involves many variables. No one determination of readiness is provided. Instead, student performance is described on a continuum of readiness in each of these activities.
11/22/2018

15. Who needs Readiness Check training?
All newly hired/transferred kindergarten teachers need to view the recorded Readiness Check webinar (link below) and complete the suite of training modules housed in the SLDS.
All returning kindergarten teachers should view the recorded Readiness Check webinar (link below).
This information has been shared with teachers via the GaDOE kindergarten teacher listserv 

16. Roster Upload Process Process is optional; system level decision
Down time required with Pre-ID cycle is avoided
ONLY system level user can upload roster
List available as soon as upload is completed
Teachers need to select students from the pre- populated list
Students can still be added manually

17. Creating the Roster File
Directions and layout information may be found on the GKIDS page of the DOE website
Directions and layout information available in the GKIDS platform
Verify that all schools are in the GKIDS database before file is uploaded
Plain text file (.txt)
New schools must be reported to GCA as noted previously.

18. Uploading the Roster File
Click Manage and then roster upload

19. Uploading the Roster File (cont’d)
Click Upload a Roster File
Upload Status shows by color coding

20. Uploading the Roster File (cont’d)
RED error messages will prevent file from being processed
YELLOW messages indicates data for individual students are invalid; only student in question is affected
File can be uploaded more than once; records that successfully imported should be removed

21. System Coordinator: User Management
Click Manage, then Users
Read options

22. School Coordinator: User Management
Read options for School Coordinator

23. Login and Passwords
All system coordinator, school coordinator and teacher information in the website from the school year will remain intact unless requested otherwise by systems.
School Coordinators should assign login names and passwords to new teachers at the beginning of the school year.
System Coordinators should assign login names and passwords to new school coordinators at the beginning of the school year.
If you are a new system test coordinator, please contact GCA or DOE for assistance.
Contact GCA if you have moved to a new school/system from last year.

24. System Test Coordinator Responsibilities
Your main role is to manage user accounts for school test coordinators at each school in your system that has Kindergarten teachers.
During the school year, you will be able to view system, school and class reports and search for reports on individual students.
New system coordinators should contact GCA or DOE to receive a login and password.
System Test Coordinators are responsible for making certain that schools in the system meet the reporting deadlines.
School coordinators and teachers can be moved within the district.

25. School Test Coordinator Responsibilities
Your main role is to manage user accounts for the teachers at your school.
During the school year, you will be able to view school and class reports and search for reports on individual students.
Be prepared to answer questions for the school about navigating the GKIDS Data Entry and Reporting website.
School Test Coordinators are responsible for making certain that teachers meet the reporting deadlines.
Teachers can be deleted.

26. Teacher Responsibilities
Add your students to the database.
Select student from school list (available after the district has completed the Roster Upload option), or
Manually add students
Enter student data in the required domains.
English Language Arts, Math, Approaches to Learning, and Personal/Social Development
Remove students from your class list if they move to a new school.
Generate student and class reports throughout the year as needed.
Create end of year individual student reports

27. Two Options for Adding Students to the GKIDS Database
1. Manually Adding Students
Available when the GKIDS website went online on July 9th.
Same procedures as previous years.
2. Selecting Students from a Pre-populated School List
Available as soon as districts complete the Roster Upload process
Newly enrolled students may still be entered manually after the upload is completed.

28. Adding New Students Manually
Select “Add
New Student”

29. Enter Demographic Information
GTID is required

30. Selecting Students from Pre-Populated School List
Select option 3, “Uploaded Roster Search”

31. Select Students from School List
Click the boxes to the left of the student names for all of your students.
Then click “submit” at the bottom of the page

32. What if one of my students is not on the school list?
Any student who was assigned to the district at the time of the Roster Upload will appear if there was NOT an error message for the student during the upload process.
If one of your students is not on the school list, go to “manage students” and select option 2, “student search” to see if the student has already been entered.
If the student is not already in the GKIDS database, you can manually enter the student.

33. What if one of my students is not on the school list?
ALWAYS SEARCH FIRST!

34. What if one of my students is not on the school list?
ALWAYS SEARCH FIRST!

35. Releasing Students & Editing Student Information
Use the “Remove from Roster” link to release a student who transfers out of your class.
This does not delete the student from the GKIDS database; it simply takes the student off your class list.
The student’s new teacher can acquire the student ONLY after he/she is released.

36. Releasing Students & Editing Student Information
If you enter a student’s information incorrectly when adding a new student, DO NOT remove the student from your roster
Click on “EDIT ” to the right of the student’s name to correct student information.

37. Use Student Search to Acquire Students
If a student has transferred to your class, use the “STUDENT SEARCH” option to search for and acquire the student.
Go to Manage Students
Select option # 2 – Student Search
Enter the Student’s Name or GTID# and click search.
Click the “acquire link” that appears to the right of the name.
If there is no link, then the student hasn’t been released and you need to contact the school to ask them to release the student.
DO NOT use the “ADD NEW STUDENT” function to acquire a transfer student. Once a student is in the database, you cannot add him/her again as a new student.
the error message “stunum taken,” means that the GTID# has already been entered in the database.

38. Acquire a Student (Option only appears for teacher login)

39. Assessing Student Performance
Teacher may assess by observing student performance during the course of regular classroom instruction or by an assessment activity of the teacher’s choice.
Sample activities have been developed for each GSE standard
Activities are included in the GKIDS Administration Manual

40. Entering Assessment Data: Entire Class
Click Enter Scores by Skill/Element

41. Entering Assessment Data: Select Standard/Skill
Click on the standard or skill to be assessed

42. Entering Assessment Data: Set All Function
Class roster appears and teacher can select the performance level for each student.
Set all function can be used if all students in the class are at the same level.

43. Entering Assessment Data: Individual Student
Click on Update Scores

44. Entering Assessment Data: Comments Function There may be times during the year when written comments are necessary to clarify a student’s performance or for instructional planning.

45. Available Reports

46. GKIDS: Key Dates
January 30, 2019
Mid-Year GKIDS student data file posted to systems in the MyGaDOE Portal
May 13, 2019
Deadline for entry of student assessment data by teachers.
June 10, 2019
GKIDS Website closes for the school year.

47. GKIDS Resources 2018-19 GKIDS Administration Manual
Quick Reference Guide for
Parent Brochure
These resources are posted in the “Resource Box” on the GKIDS page of the GaDOE website. Go to testing.gadoe.org and click on “Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS)” on the left side of the page.
For instructional support, you may browse the GaDOE frameworks at:

48. GKIDS Online Resources

49. GKIDS Contacts GKIDS Assessment Administration Bobbie Bable
(404)
Georgia Center for Assessment
(888)

50. Questions? Heads up about GKIDS 2.0
New platform; learning progressions; performance tasks